Jeep Shots - June 2014

You’ve worked hard on your Jeep, so why not show it off in Jp? All we need from you is a photo that’s ready for print and a tech sheet that’s filled out to tell us all about your project. Here are some tips on how you can take a Jeep shot that will make the cut and get into the pages of Jp. Just remember to send your Jeep photos, info, anecdotes, your name, and where you live to us at: jpeditor@sorc.com, attention Jeep Shots.

Nice Shot
This picture of a ’42 Ford GPW, owned by Steve Webb, is the type of photo we are looking for. It’s nothing fancy, but the Jeep has good lighting, the photo is in focus, the vehicle is parked at an interesting angle, and the setting and background are not ugly or distracting. The size of this picture’s digital file clocks in at 3.1MB (megabytes), which is plenty for the photo to look good when it’s printed in the magazine. It may sound easy, but it took us 15 attempts to take a satisfactory Jeep shot.

All Wrong
Sometimes it’s easier to explain what not to do, so we took some awful photos on purpose. The first is an example (1) that has bad lighting, a poor choice of a beauty salon parking lot as a setting, and it even has our friend walking through the shot (thanks a lot, Larry!). The second was taken in an alley with the Jeep next to a bunch of trash cans, with the Jeep parked in an unflattering straight profile that looks like a mug shot. The third picture is a cramped photo of the Jeep inside a small garage that doesn’t even show the whole vehicle and has a rear-end photobomber (dang it, Larry!). You’ve spent a lot of time building up your project, so do some planning, and take an hour or two to go out and get some really good photos to show off your Jeep.

The Camera
You don’t need a $5,000 professional camera to take a good picture of your Jeep. Experts say digital photos taken with 5MP of resolution are similar to those on 35mm film. Most digital cameras and many modern smartphones made are rated at 5MP or more, so they are quite capable of taking photos that can be printed in the magazine. Even with the ever-increasing number of megapixels available to consumers, the size of the lens and the digital sensor behind it play a big role in how good your photo will turn out because they determine how much light can be picked up with each photo. For example, the iPhone 5s has an 8MP camera, and although our trusty old Canon PowerShot G6 is rated at “just” 7.1MP, it has a lens that dwarfs that of any phone, as well as a sensor that is about five times as big as the one inside the iPhone 5s.

No Apps, Please
A modern camera phone can be used to take good pictures, but please use the built-in camera and not an app such as Instagram like we did here. The magazine needs photos that are at least 1,600x1,200 pixels to look good in print, but many apps reduce file sizes to just a fraction of that to save space. We also can’t use photos copied from websites such as Facebook or Twitter because they also reduce the file sizes considerably when you upload your pictures. The original photo from your camera or the built-in camera in your phone is what we need to meet print specifications. Just attach the original photo file directly to the email you send to us.

Tell Us Everything
This is your chance to share your Jeep with everyone else around the globe who reads Jp. Let us know all of the details about the upgrades made to your project, what inspired your work, and any interesting or fun stories about your build. It’s a lot better to send us more information than not enough. For example, the Jeep we used in this article has an interesting history. It’s owned by Steve Webb, was restored by Paul King, and was originally used at the Manzanar Japanese Internment Camp. After World War II, it became the Communications Command Vehicle for the fire department in Lone Pine, California. Steve bought the Jeep in 1972 and added the 101st Airborne Division in tribute to his service with the Screaming Eagles in Vietnam.

Write Us!
Want to get your Jeep in these pages? Just grab the tech form off jpmagazine.com, fill it out, and email it to jpeditor@sorc.com. Be sure to include a high resolution image (at least 1,600x1,200 pixels) with your submission. Or, snail mail it to: